In this blog post, we will discuss how “The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy” moved audiences without dialogue and the depth of emotion that silent plays can convey.
About “The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy”
First, let me explain the musical “The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy” that I saw. It is a musical that was a hot topic even on Broadway in New York. It premiered at the Jamsil Arts Theater in South Korea in October 2009 and continues to be loved by audiences today. As the world’s first b-boy musical, this performance is characterized by its pantomime, which conveys the storyline to the audience through the music playing in the background and the corresponding body movements and facial expressions. Since it is expressed only through dance and music without dialogue, the story structure is not only flat but also straightforward. However, the appeal of pantomime lies not in the story but in the method of expression itself. As the title of the musical is “The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy,” the cast and lead actors were b-boys and ballerinas. The stage was large and spectacular, and the cast was equally spectacular, with the “Extreme Crew,” who have won the world b-boy competition several times over the years, and a ballerina exclusive to Show B-Boy, performing dances and performances that took the audience’s breath away. The Jamsil Arts Theater was a small theater that could seat about 200 people. The stage and audience seats were close together, so the colorful and elegant dances unfolded right in front of the audience, keeping them focused and enthusiastic throughout the performance. The atmosphere was very different from a typical musical, which I will explain in more detail later.
The plot of “The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy” is, as the title suggests, a pure love story about a ballerina who falls in love at first sight with a b-boy and gives up her dream to become a b-girl in order to be with him. The musical begins when ballerina Yoo Eun-hye (So-yeon in the play) goes to complain about the noise made by hip-hop b-boys on the street next to her ballet practice studio. I will describe the meaning that can be found in the plot of the musical. In the musical, ballerinas represent the privileged class, or the upper class and wealthy, while hip-hop and B-boys represent the masses and the marginalized. The ballerina falls in love with a B-boy at first sight and begins to question her identity. After much deliberation, she realizes that she was once a member of the masses before becoming part of the privileged class.
The ballerina wanted to be part of the masses, but the masses did not accept her and instead discriminated against her. However, in the end, the ballerina gives up her privileges and becomes part of the masses, achieving the love she had longed for. In this blog post, I will focus on the lessons I learned from this play that left a deep impression on me and stayed with me long after I saw it.
First of all, I was impressed by the play’s unique blend of the new and the classic, and I remember the actors’ pursuit of freedom. Therefore, I will discuss the friction that arises from the encounter between the old and the new and the conflict that arises in the play. I will also explore the freedom that can be seen in the unconventional setting of the theater and the dancing.
The encounter between the new and the old
In an age that demands creativity, there are many attempts to break with common sense. For example, traditional Korean instruments such as the gayageum are played together with electric guitars, and there are frequent attempts to make classical music more accessible to the general public, such as the arrangement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8, “Pathétique,” by Beethoven Virus. I think this performance is one such attempt. There were two things that I found most interesting about the performance. One was, as I mentioned earlier, the way the story was told through a combination of traditional ballet and the somewhat new and unfamiliar breakdancing on the same stage. In other words, I think it was a play that depicted the friction that arises when traditional culture and new culture meet and fuse together. At the beginning, the b-boys performed extreme dance moves, followed by elegant and traditional ballet, which was a completely new experience for me, who had only seen classical opera and theater. I think most people have a negative view of b-boys due to the conservative nature of society. This is deeply rooted in the origins of b-boying. B-boy dancing, along with hip-hop, was a symbol of the poor in the United States. It was a dance that started with a group of people from the underworld and back alleys who wanted to create their own culture, so b-boys were considered to be part of the proletariat, or the poor. Proletariat is a word used to describe the lower class, or the people without property. Therefore, when the beautiful melodies of classical music were disrupted by the chaotic hip-hop music coming from the window in the play, the ballerinas who grimaced and covered their ears seemed to represent our existing prejudice against b-boys. The culture of ballet, which we consider to be in contrast to the so-called low-class b-boy culture, also has a different origin. Ballet was a form of dance that was part of aristocratic culture in modern Europe. It was a performance exclusively for the aristocracy and a select few bourgeoisie, and ballerinas took great pride in their profession. Therefore, it must have been a difficult choice for the characters in the play to give up their dreams and take up the proletarian dance of breakdancing. However, when two different things come together, there is always friction. In this musical, the b-boys do not accept the ballerina who wants to become a b-girl into their society. They even look down on ballet. I think this is a form of ethnocentric thinking that comes from cultural integration. I think this is a criticism of our society today, which is unable to accept and integrate different ways of thinking and unfamiliar cultures. I thought it was criticizing us for not being able to harmonize the past, which is called classic, with the future-oriented present. I think that there should be no rejection or disregard for b-boys because they are also a culture and an art form. I think this play taught us that accepting all cultures and arts for their own beauty is what it means to be a true global leader who can embrace world culture in step with globalization.
Modern people in pursuit of freedom
I thought that the characteristic of popular art, such as “The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy,” which seeks to communicate with the public, is to emphasize freedom. First of all, the audience, that is, we, were given external freedom. This was a refreshing shock and fun for me because it broke the stereotypes of common sense and classical opera and musicals. The first thing that struck me when I entered the theater was that, unlike other theaters, I could take videos and photos of scenes I liked. I could also make phone calls if I wanted to, and I was free to cheer and applaud during the performance. I had always thought that it was basic etiquette to turn off my cell phone when attending a formal classical performance or even a small performance. However, this performance did not interfere with or restrict our freedom as much as possible. The structure itself, which broke down the boundaries between the stage and the audience, was truly unconventional. The audience surrounded the stage on three sides, and the stage was located in the center. This was not the musical or theater structure I was familiar with. It was like a courtyard theater. It was a performance that sought to communicate with the audience from a closer distance, breaking all stereotypes. The play itself was a play, the stage was a stage, and the environment was the environment. Nothing was bound by existing frameworks, showing that change and freedom always exist in everything. Throughout the nearly two-hour performance, I think the two words that filled the theater and musical were “freedom.” The freedom to take photos, bring in food, and use cell phones was only a small part of it. I think the greater freedom can be found in the movements of the b-boys and ballerinas. The b-boys’ moves that got the audience most excited were a dance called Air-Track, in which they spun around dozens of times using centrifugal force. The audience cheered enthusiastically as the b-boys defied gravity, lifted themselves into the air, and maintained their balance while their feet cut through the air. The audience was mesmerized when the ballerinas performed a dance called arabesque, in which they kicked their legs toward the sky, drawing beautiful parabolas. Of course, it may be because of their energy and beauty, but if you think about it more deeply, these are acts of rebellion against the force of gravity that humans born on earth can never escape. It seemed like a rebellion against being bound. Their movements were a symbol of infinite freedom, flying like birds.
I think what was revealed through their movements was a longing for endless freedom. Furthermore, as explained in the previous paragraph, the fact that the ballerina in the plot gives up her dreams and pride and jumps into a more popular culture seems to depict the free life and love that the character in the play pursues. Therefore, I believe that this musical did not simply allow the audience to “talk on the phone” in the theater, but created a situation that made them feel free, and that the colorful dance moves contained a big and important message about freedom.
Conclusion
“The Ballerina Who Loved a B-Boy” is a musical in a new genre called dance musical. Even before the performance, I was intrigued by the fusion of traditional ballet and black culture hip-hop. I was excited about the fact that two cultures with no historical connection were coming together. I remember that as soon as the opening began, the audience and I were swept away by the enthusiastic cheers. The plot was about a beautiful ballerina who meets a b-boy and falls in love with the intense hip-hop music, eventually entering the world of b-boying. A ballerina, a symbol of high culture, falls in love with a b-boy, a pop icon. At first, I wondered how the storyline could be clearly conveyed to the audience through a silent play. However, that was only for a moment. The unique subject matter and composition, as well as the process of resolving the conflict between the ballerina and the breakdancers, were expressed very delicately to the audience, despite it being a silent play with no dialogue. The dance and acting were choreographed to the music, lighting, and effects, which were organized around a single story, clearly conveying the meaning to the audience and creating a new art genre. Although there were some parts where it was difficult to convey the meaning using only music, dance, and facial expressions, I felt that it was enough to create a sense of empathy among the audience. The dynamic dancing of the cast and the events in between the acts gave it a feel that was different from a musical. I think this musical was not only entertaining, but also left the audience with many philosophical and social lessons, such as the pursuit of freedom and the harmony between the old and the new.
